Fernando,
When I said building web apps IS an easy taks I did not say that it wouldn't take time. There is a learning curve to developing web apps I realize that. It took me quite a while to fully understand the stateless nature of a web app, but once that hurdle was overcome it got easier.
When it comes to building a large complex web app. Is it easy? Well both yes and no. You've got to stay positive. (as programmers we are generaly positive people. how many of you have said : ohhh that will take me an hour, and then 3 hours later it is done. It might have been an easy task but just remember the triple T's {Things Take Time}) Saying it is easy does not mean it will not take a long time and that you will run into problems along the way. If you are negative and say no it is not easy you might aswell stop right there.

Well here is another question: Is it an easy task to build a complex multiuser desktop app in VFP? Well again I would say yes (again I am a positive person <s>), but I know as always I will run into some hurdles and there will be some problems.

IIS. Well yeah it isn't easy (that is one place where I am not so positive), but I have overcome some of the hurdles I've had. Who says that you have to use IIS. Apache is another webserver that as far as I know is used in large web apps more than IIS. (I don't know if ActiveVFP works with Apache).
ASP and ASP.NET are not the only serverside languages. What about PHP? I love working with PHP and I can't wait until I get a chance to develop a web app using PHP. And it will be an easy task :)

Yes I will be the first person to agree with you that web app are limiting, but there are some applications that are better suited for the web. Now there are some goofy managers that want everything on the web and this is not good, but who am I to argue with a manager <s>. I tell them what I think is best and if they still want to do it their way ohh well.

When it comes to the .NET framework. I think it is very promising. I am just learning .NET now and I must say I love parts of it, but I don't think I will ever leave the Fox. Imagine alot of your runtime problems being caught at compile time (.NET can do that and that will in turn helf reducing hair loss and scull fractures (from banging your own head after finding a stupid mistake) <s>).

Things do not stay the same, things change and we have to change with them. Now the Fox Team at M$ have done a wonderfull job changing with time and I think they will in the future too, but they have not been marketing Fox as much as .NET. I belive Ken Levy has been marketing Fox as well as he possibly can or is allowed to, but the rest of the marketing is up to us.

Talking about this makes me think about a funny thing that happend about a month ago. A client called and said that he wanted a desktop app. The client is currently using FoxPro programs, but said they wanted the app in VB.NEt cuz it is faster (well that is what he said). We built the app for the client and gave him to files, one that included the .NET framework and one that didn't. The client called back and said that he thought that you didn't need 'runtime'files with .NET and it was a surprise to him that you did. The client said we wanted the app in VFP7 cuz he aleady had VFP7 runtimes installed on every machine. So we built the app in VFP7 (it was a small somple app) and now the client is very happy :) and we got to built 2 apps.

Follow this link to a web app I built using ActiveVFP and some javascript.
This web app is currently in the beta phase.
http://www.iotechno.com/taskasap/
Use testuser and testpass to log in.

Things are as easy as you want the to be!!

Einar


>Einar,
>
>Sorry to say that, but building a web app IS NOT an easy task, unless you have acquired (and mastered - this will cost you LOTS of time and money), all required skills to do so (and not just all the software required to). The data access and processing part is the easiest one, and it may be as much as 10% of the whole thing. Formatting data, building menus, hyperlinks, images, controls, data gathering, cookies, sessions, transaction chaining and God knows what else will consume the other 90%, and NO OTHER software (even VFP) will help you in making that easy.
>
>I've created two very very very simple web sites (www.FoxProHistory.org and www.Black-Beans.com.br) and had to learn lots of new stuff, just to do what you can see in there (note: I just used plain vanilla HTML). Mantainance: a nightmare!
>
>If building a web app WAS an easy task there were no people like those that produced the articles JustAnotherGUI and Beyond The Browser saying what they say (if you haven't, please read those articles).
>
>I've done myself many trials: bought and tested Web Connection (if you want to see some of the problems I faced just check the Web Connection message board for messages I posted at that time), FrontPage, many books, including JavaScript, HTML books, checked and/or tried other softwares like AFP, ActiveVFP and FoxWeb, spent lots of time *and* money. All that to learn that there is nothing more easy and straightforward than programming a blessed desktop app in VFP.
>
>One more thing: prepair yourself to learn all the intrincacies of IIS. Oh yes, you will have to do that so, if you want to get used to web apps development. IIS? Another nightmare!
>
>Building web apps are easy *just* when demonstrating software to build web apps. When you have to build REAL web apps then you'll feel the pain.
>
>If that was not the case, why to develop a web app requires, not one but, many different skilled professionals, takes much more time and costs much more money than the equivalent desktop app? (here I'm taking words of people that seem to know what they're talking about, like when Tod Nielsen says; "The productivity losses are stunning as long as we force complex transactions to take place in an interface for filling out forms that resembles nothing more than the IBM 3270 terminals from the 1960s", among other things).
>
>If the shown arguments are not valid... then go dotNET, the promised panacea for all development problems (not just web apps, but also for broken bones, loss of hair, snake bites etc). At least is what "those" IT managers I refered to are thinking...
>
>Regards,
>
>Fernando
>
>PS. The comments I've made came out from a VFP desktop apps developer perpective.
>
>